Buffalo's second-half surge ends with an AFC East title. The Bills were able to secure a division title and clinch the No. 2 seed in the AFC after outlasting the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, 21-14.
It was a rather clunky start for both of these teams as Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen swapped interceptions on the opening two drives. Allen also had another pick on Buffalo's second drive of the night and this turnover came inside the end zone to eliminate a scoring opportunity for the Bills. To compound the turnover, Miami drove 80 yards down the field, and Dolphins rookie back De'Von Achane opened up the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown run. Both clubs would then volley two more scoring drives before the break and it seemed like the Bills were going to at least cut into the 14-7 Dolphins lead as they brought the ball to the Miami 11-yard line in the closing seconds. However, a poor decision by Allen to throw over the middle of the field was completed, but they couldn't get back to the line in time before the clock ran out on the first half, eliminating another scoring opportunity.
The second half was silent initially with a scoreless third quarter and a fumble by Allen just outsize the red zone looked like it was going to be a major swing in momentum in favor of Miami. However, Buffalo's defense forced a punt on the ensuing possession, and return specialist Deonte Harty fielded a punt from his 5-yard line and took it 95 yards to the house to tie the game at 14 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
That score swung the momentum drastically in favor of the Bills. The defense forced a three-and-out of the Dolphins following that touchdown and handed the ball to the offense, which is where Allen had arguably his best stretch of the night. He orchestrated a 74-yard touchdown drive that featured several impressive chunk plays and was capped off by a go-ahead score to Dawson Knox to take the lead.
After a failed fourth-and-1 from the Miami 37-yard line, the Dolphins did have an opportunity to tie the game and brought the football as far as the Buffalo 40, but Taylor Rapp picked off Tagovailoa to secure the division for the Bills for the fourth straight season.
Allen finished his night 30 of 38 passing for 359 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Khalil Shakir led all receivers with 105 yards on six catches. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa completed 17 of 27 for 173 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
For a more detailed breakdown of how this game unfolded and what's next for both of these playoff-bound teams, check out our takeaways below.
The Deonte Hardy 95-yard punt return was the key catalyst for the Bills outscoring the Dolphins 14-0 in the second half and winning the division, but we'll touch on that more below. While Josh Allen is sometime flippant with the football, his play down the stretch is why he's considered to be among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Allen was sensational on the offense's fourth-quarter touchdown drive that allowed them to jump out in front of Miami. He completed all five of his passes on the drive for 68 yards and accounted for 5 yards on the ground, while also tossing the go-head touchdown to Dawson Knox. Even after that drive, Allen was able to pull all the right levers, utilizing his legs to kill the clock and force the Dolphins into utilizing their timeouts. Meanwhile, the Buffalo defense stepped up in a major way and shut out the Dolphins -- one of the best second-half scoring teams in the league -- over the final two quarters.
Miami's offense went silent when it simply couldn't afford to. In the second half, the Dolphins punted on four consecutive possessions, which is the first time that's occurred all season. Three of the four possession over that stretch were thee-and-outs and the other saw the punt returned for a 95-yard touchdown, which helped spark Buffalo's comeback and eventual win. The Dolphins totaled just 47 yards of total offense in the second half. While they were missing some key pieces like Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert for this game, that's an unacceptable figure when they still have a healthy Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill.
Overall, the Dolphins squandered moments when the Bills were trying to hand away the game. The defense was able to force punt on the opening drive of the second half, and the offense went three and out immediately after. Allen then fumbled the football on a stellar play from Christian Wilkins to eliminate a Buffalo scoring opportunity and the unit couldn't capitalize with a score of its own.
Miami's injuries on defense were also apparent in the second half and Buffalo looked to exploit certain mismatches, including one moment where tight end Dalton Kincaid ripped off a 26-yard gain with veteran linebacker Melvin Ingram in coverage.
While Harty's return was the spark, the nail in the coffin for the Dolphins and road to victory for the Bills was paved by Josh Allen's play on the ensuing two drives. He orchestrated a 74-yard touchdown drive to take the lead and then used his legs on the next possession that forced Miami to burn all three of their timeouts, while ticking over four minutes of clock. Specifically, Allen dazzled on a third-and-13 play from the Bills 34-yard line where he scrambled for 15 yards, which allowed Buffalo to maintain a firm grasp on its lead.
Deonte Harty's 95-yard punt return truly gave the Bills the jolt they needed. Not only did it tie the game at 14 apiece, but it completely swung the momentum in Buffalo's favor. Harty effectively was untouched on the return, in part thanks to Dolphins linebacker Cameron Goode, who was carted off after the play, essentially blocking Alec Ingold and paving a clear lane for Harty.
From here, the Bills will now head back to Highmark Stadium as the No. 2 seed in the conference and await the Pittsburgh Steelers, who they'll play on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. As for the Dolphins, they now fall to the No. 6 seed and will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
According to CBS Sports HQ Research, the Bills are the fourth team in NFL history to win a division after being down three-plus games with five or fewer games to play. (1973 CIN, 2008 SD, 2022 JAX)
The Bills will win the AFC East and take the No. 2 seed in the AFC. They will host the Steelers next week at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Dolphins will be the No. 6 seed and travel to Kansas City for the Saturday night game.
Taylor Rapp broke up that pass, but it looked like he had a real chance to pick it off, and then Christian Benford almost caught it on the deflection. Wild sequence. No Tyreek on the field for second down... and Tua gets picked by Rapp.
Oh boy. Tyreek might still be running if he caught that. Alas, Dane Jackson gets called for PI on the play.
And they mark him short. Wow. Dolphins have new life. And it does look on replay like he never got the ball to the line to gain.
This is gonna be INCREDIBLY close. And no matter where they mark the ball, it seems like there's almost no chance it gets overturned on review. Drama!
Wow, are the Bills really thinking about not going for this?!?!
Wow. Another fourth-and-1 coming up after the two-minute warning. 1 yard and the Bills win the game.
What an incredible run by Allen. Holy cow. Looks like the penalty is against Miami.
Guess Allen was still just short. Fourth-and-less-than-1... and he leaps over the line for a new set of downs.
Josh Allen looked like he was just about stopped on the tush push, but his second effort got the ball over the line.
Another missed connection for Tua and Tyreek. Dolphins defense needs to step up for them to get the ball back.
That's a throw that Tua and Tyreek connect on all the time. Tua just put a bit too much air under it.
That's now the second time Brandon Jones has come absolutely flying down from the secondary to tackle James Cook in the backfield. He's making an impact with Jevon Holland limited... but then the other safety, DeShon Elliott, is JUST a bit too late getting out to Dawson Knox in the flat and the Bills take the lead. Wow.
GORGEOUS throw from Allen to Shakir. That type of hole shot to the wide side of the field takes such ridiculous arm strength and Allen makes it look easy.
Melvin Ingram dropping into coverage is maybe not the best strategy.
Stefon Diggs is up to 7-87 on 8 targets. He hadn't topped 86 yards since Week 6.
Dane Jackson redeems himself for the first-half play where Wilson beat him on a corner route. Tried to beat him with a seam that time but Jackson made a play on the ball.
Harty was totally untouched, and barely even had to make a move. Perfectly-blocked return from the Bills.
AND THERE GOES DEONTE HARTY!!!!!
I think that's the third time the Dolphins have been called for ineligible man downfield. Timing is JUST a bit off on the RPO game tonight.
Just your standard inside hand-off on second-and-30, folks.
Play was overturned, and then Christian Benford makes another play on the ball down the left sideline, near where he had the interception earlier in the game.
Big challenge coming here from Sean McDermott. Looks like the ball hits the ground but I'm not sure if it helps Tyreek make the catch. Should be an interesting ruling.
Should not go overlooked: That was an AMAZING play by Christian Wilkins. Just straight-up ripped the ball from Allen.
Wow. Another Buffalo turnover. Bills are now 1-4 in the red zone with two turnovers.
